


take care

by gaysanada



Category: All Elite Wrestling
Genre: M/M, chuck has a drunk panic attack while gay, trent is annoyed but sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:00:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25009606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaysanada/pseuds/gaysanada
Summary: Chuck fumbled with the hotel room key, desperately trying to slide it in the slot for the fifth time in a row, and failing. His world was spinning, time moved too fast and then too slow, and none of his thoughts made sense. He was drunk, and he was having a panic attack, which was a terrible mix.(written while listening to Take Care by Beach House, highly recommend listening to it before/while reading!)
Relationships: Trent Barreta/Chuck Taylor
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	take care

**Author's Note:**

> alcohol & FEELINGS.

Chuck fumbled with the hotel room key, desperately trying to slide it in the slot for the fifth time in a row, and failing. His world was spinning, time moved too fast and then too slow, and none of his thoughts made sense. He was drunk, and he was having a panic attack, which was a _terrible_ mix.

Trent was laying in bed, listening to Chuck curse on the other side of the door as he debated getting up and helping him. He knew Chuck was drunk, and he knew that he would never get the damn key in the hole.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sighed. He was a little angry that Chuck had gone out without him, again. They were never _required_ to hang out after their matches, but it was always more fun to get drunk together than to get drunk on his own.

Finally, he pushed himself off the bed and swung the door open for Chuck, only to see Chuck with tears starting to pool in his eyes, one slipping out and down his cheek. Trent wasn’t sure what to do, and he was left choking out words as Chuck half-collapsed against his body, then pushed past him and fell across Trent’s bed.

Finally, Trent managed to form an actual word, simply saying ‘ _Chuck?_ ’ in a very soft, gentle voice to see if he would respond.

And respond he did. He rolled over and let out a little burp, followed by a quiet sob, before slowly sitting up and staring down at the floor.

“I know,” Chuck started, pausing to find the words, “I know you don’t, like, _hate me_. Not really. But can you just, like, tell me that you don’t hate me? _Please?_ ”

Trent was a bit taken aback, but slowly nodded and sat down next to Chuck and placed a hand on his shoulder, “I don’t hate you, man. I could never hate you, you’re my best friend.” 

Chuck looked up at Trent with sad eyes, a few more tears running down his face as he choked back another sob, “Right. _Best friend._ ”

Trent wasn’t sure what Chuck meant by that, but he just nodded and rubbed his back, trying to think of more words to say that could comfort his friend. But all he could up with was, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Chuck smiled, but it wasn’t his regular smile. It was sad, and a little manic. A strange laugh came from somewhere deep in his chest, followed by a sob as he leaned into Trent. Trent wrapped his arms around Chuck and let the soft cries fill the room, deciding that maybe silence would be best for right now on his part.

After a few moments, Chuck pushed out of Trent’s arms, taking a deep breath in and shaking his head, “I’m fine. I feel fine now. I just wanna go to sleep.”

Trent started to shake his head, but Chuck seemed insistent, trying to kick his shoes off and failing. With his failure came another few tears, and Trent couldn’t bear to watch it.

Not saying anything, Trent knelt in front of Chuck, pulling his shoes off and setting them near his bag. He stood up, motioning for Chuck to do the same. 

Chuck sniffled, not reacting at all to Trent. Trent sighed, grabbing Chuck’s arms and gently pulling him to his feet.

He felt a little awkward, but went ahead and unbuckled Chuck’s belt, pushing his pants down and watching Chuck lazily kick his feet out of them, while holding Trent’s hand for balance.

Chuck still didn’t meet Trent’s eyes as Trent unbuttoned the flannel shirt he was wearing, gently pulling it off his arms. He only watched through lowered eyes as Trent dug through Chuck’s bag to find a shirt and pants for him to sleep in. He was too embarrassed to say anything. Watching his best friend undress him, feeling too trapped inside his own head to change his own clothes, let alone speak real words.

He wanted to speak. No, he wanted to _scream_. Every time he looked at Trent he felt his soul burn, and his heart threatened to jump directly from his chest. And right now, watching Trent take care of him like this, it made it so much worse. Trent, being so soft and caring for him. As if he wasn’t already in love enough.

Trent came back to him with a t-shirt and some sweatpants, gently guiding him to put them both on. Once he was dressed, Trent put his hands on Chuck’s shoulders and pushed him back into a sitting position on the bed, sitting beside him again.

Chuck seemed a little calmer now, and Trent was hoping he’d be able to speak up and tell him what had made him so upset, but he was scared to speak, worrying that any words would push Chuck too far and cause him to break down again. So, instead, Trent put a hand on Chuck’s back, rubbing gentle circles with his thumb, waiting to see if Chuck would speak first.

“Thank you,” was all he got. Quiet, almost whispered, from Chuck, as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “Thank you for taking care of me. You’re a great _friend_.”

The word ‘ _friend_ ’ was spoken in a different tone than the rest of his words. Almost with venom. It seemed unintentional, and as soon as it came out of his mouth, Chuck looked apologetic. Trent felt a sting run through his heart, both of the sudden harsh tone, and at how sad Chuck looked after he’d said it.

“I didn’t mean to be mean I just,” Chuck paused again, the tears returning to his eyes as his voice started to crack, “I can’t...I can’t do this anymore.”

The sting in Trent’s heart came back, although this time it was more of a tear. Like someone had reached into his chest and clawed at it. He didn’t know what Chuck meant, but he feared the worst. Maybe Chuck didn’t want to be his tag partner anymore. Maybe Chuck didn’t even want to be his friend anymore.

“What do you mean?” Trent said quietly, terrified of whatever answer Chuck might give.

The sad, manic smile returned to Chuck’s face, the same choked up laugh coming out of him as pain appeared in his tear-filled eyes.

“I can’t pretend like I’m your _friend_ anymore, man. I just can’t do it. It’s killing me inside to watch you every fucking day so happy. I’m _so_ in _love_ with you, it’s crazy. Talking to you is so easy. Like, I can say anything to you and you won’t judge me at all. I can just tell you whatever stupid, random thought is in my head and you’ll laugh and shit. And you always make me feel better when I’m sad and angry or something. Like if I come to you and just tell you I feel like shit, you’ll do literally anything to make me feel better. And it _sucks_. I _hate_ it. I can’t keep pretending like we’re just friends and like I don’t look at you every day and wish we were in the same bed or some shit. I can’t do this anymore.”

And with that, near silence filled the room again, the only noise being the gentle sobs coming from Chuck as he buried his head in his hands.

Trent didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even know Chuck felt that way about him. He, of course, had been in love with Chuck since the moment they met, but he just figured Chuck was straight, or would never return the feeling.

Neither of them said anything for a while. It felt like years had passed before Chuck finally stopped crying, lifting his head from his hands and sniffling again.

“We should go to sleep,” was all he said, a grief-like feeling filling his chest. He felt guilty for it, but grief was all he could place right now. He’d poured his heart out to Trent, and Trent didn’t say anything. It felt worse than rejection, and all he could do now was grieve the idea of this perfect relationship with Trent that he’d had in his head for years.

Trent nodded, still at a loss for words. He watched Chuck stand up and slowly stumble his way to the other bed, falling down on it and tangling himself in the blankets. Trent laid in his bed, staring at the ceiling as he heard Chuck’s quiet, drunken mumbles slowly come to a stop, and genuine silence filled the room for the first time since Chuck had come in.

When Trent woke up the next morning, memories of the previous night came back to him so hard it felt like a truck. Chuck had said he was in love with him. He looked over to the other bed, only to find it empty. He panicked for a moment until he heard the shower begin to run, and he sighed.

He used the time to think about what he might say to Chuck. He couldn’t just say ‘ _I love you_ ,’ could he? What if Chuck didn’t remember what he’d said? After all, he was so drunk that he couldn’t even open the damn door. Or, God, even worse, what if Chuck took it all back? Blamed it all on the alcohol?

His _derailed_ train of thought was interrupted by the bathroom door swinging open, a freshly showered and dressed Chuck Taylor walking out of it. He gave Trent a smile, but it wasn’t his usual smile. There was just something slightly off about it.

“Hey, you feelin’ okay?” Trent asked, pretending like he hadn’t been panicking only moments before.

Chuck nodded, looking a little embarrassed, “Yeah,” Chuck started, looking down at his feet, “Yeah, I’m good. Sorry about last night, just...alcohol mixed with too many dark thoughts, I guess.”

Trent nodded, his fear returning. Chuck was about to blame it on the drinking. Should Trent even bother to admit that he loved Chuck?

“You sure? You said...a lot of stuff before you went to sleep,” Trent said hesitantly, meeting Chuck’s eyes for a moment.

Chuck just nodded, the slight embarrassment turning more intense, “Yeah, I’m really sorry about that. Could we just, like...forget it happened?”

Trent wanted to say yes, if only to move on and not have to listen to Chuck keep avoiding the subject. But he also wanted to be daring, and say no, and explain his own feelings.

“I don’t want to forget it happened, Chuck. You literally told me that you’re in love with me,” Trent said this a little too bluntly, and he felt bad. 

A look of hurt flashed through Chuck’s eyes for a moment, before being replaced by that same look of grief from the previous night, “Right, yeah. Um, we can talk about it, if you want. Or I can leave or something. I don’t, uh...I don’t know.”

Trent stood up, ready to block Chuck from the door, “I don’t want you to leave. I never want you to leave. I just,” Trent paused now, almost in disbelief that he was really about to say it, “I love you too, Chuck.”

Chuck looked up at him and blinked, going through several emotions in just a few seconds, “You do?”

Trent nodded, thinking through his words for a moment, “Yeah. I pretty much have been since we met, I just didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t think you’d feel the same way. You make my life more fun. You always help me through my problems, and you actually listen to what I have to say, even when what I’m saying is stupid. You laugh at my bad jokes, you try to hype me up before shows. I thought, at first, that I just really, really liked you as a friend, but then I realized that I really, really love you...as more than a friend.”

It was Trent’s turn to feel embarrassed as Chuck just stared at him in awe. Neither of them knew what to say next. A date passed through both of their minds, but they had already known each other so long, what would a date even be like for them? 

“Do you wanna be my boyfriend?” Chuck finally asked his words filled with confidence for the first time since just prior to their match the night before.

Trent nodded, a smile beginning to spread across his face as Chuck took a step towards him and pulled him in. 

It was like it was natural for them, their arms wrapping around each other as their lips finally made contact, the world around them disappearing completely as they lost themselves in the most perfect moment either of them could’ve ever imagined.


End file.
